The Plastiki in San Francisco Bay. Photo by Luca Babini.
The world is getting crowded with adventurers vying for “firsts”—first to bike around the world, first to climb the world’s 7 highest peaks, first to row solo around the world—but here’s one that stands out from the crowd: the voyage of the Plastiki. Made from 12,000 post-consumer plastic bottles, the Plastiki will sail from San Francisco across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia. British banking heir David de Rothschild dreamed up the idea as a way to educate people about what plastic is doing to our planet. In a recent public radio interview, de Rothschild and Plastiki skipper Jo Royle said the boat should cover about 100 miles a day using solar and wind turbines and pedal power.
On the way to Sydney the Plastiki will stop at environmental hotspots such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a Texas-sized mass of bottles, bags, toothbrushes, toys, and other plastic junk. De Rothschild wants to spread the message that there is no “away” and the plastic stuff we toss out is poisoning the planet (one million seabirds die each year from ingesting plastic). De Rothschild is a proponent of the “cradle to cradle” vision of smart design for products. This philosophy, popularized by William McDonough in his book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, takes a lifecycle approach to product design with the goal that all materials used should be infinitely recyclable or compostable. De Rothschild says we need to encourange cleaner, greener recycling and promote the use of alternatives to plastic (such as glue made of sugar that can replace petroleum-based glues). The Plastiki will set sail soon and you can monitor its progress here.
School-aged kids will love de Rothschild’s Adventure Ecology website, especially Mission Control , which combines exploration, ecology, and games targeted at 9- to 12-year-olds.
Julie Angus writes with clear-eyed humility about accomplishing a feat that most people wouldn’t dream of attempting: rowing 10,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean. I like that in a person. Angus’ 5-month voyage with explorer fiancé Colin Angus in a 21-foot long rowboat was rife with danger. In their tiny vessel, the rowers weathered three hurricanes, were nearly mowed down by a tanker, and had an unnerving encounter with a great white shark. They rowed 18 hours a day and took turns sleeping in a closet –sized cabin. They developed gnarly dreadlocks; the sea was their bathtub and toilet. A lot of couples, and I’m not naming names, wouldn’t last 5 days in that environment (for some of us, 5 hours would be a stretch). Yet instead of driving the Anguses apart, the hardships simply cemented their love. (They got married soon after returning to Canada). Though most adventure lit doesn’t place the story in a broader social context, Angus is eco-conscious, and muses about the declining health of the seas without being too earnest or preachy. Despite the rough conditions and monotony of life at sea, Angus’ ability to laugh at herself—and her fiancé—brings an aspect of joie de vivre to the adventure that I found irresistible. Review by Kali.
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